Wearing non-medical masks at all times is not recommended in schools because there are multiple, more effective infection prevention and exposure control measures in place. These measures provide multiple layers of protection that reduce the risk of transmission. They include:
- Ensuring students and staff stay home when they are sick or required to self-isolate, including ensuring everyone who enters the school does a daily health check
- Enhanced cleaning and disinfection
- Placing students and staff into consistent groupings of people (learning groups)
- Adapting learning environments to maximize use of space
- Ensuring physical distancing can be maintained between learning groups
- Frequent hand hygiene
Members will need to review their district’s safety plans in terms of the use of masks as some may vary.
(See page 21 of the updated “Provincial COVID-19 Health & Safety Guidelines for K-12 Settings.”)